Thoughts, tech tips and news about science from Promega Corporation

Menu

elements

From the inside covers of elementary science textbooks to
the walls of chemistry labs all around the world, the periodic table is one of
the most pivotal and enduring tools of modern science. To honor the 150th
anniversary of its discovery, the United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO
have declared 2019 to be the International Year of the Periodic Table of
Chemical Elements.

As with all scientific progress, Dmitri Mendeleev’s periodic
table was the result of decades—centuries, even—of research performed by
scientists all over the world. Aristotle first theorized the existence of basic
building blocks of matter over 2,500 years ago, which later were believed to be
earth, air, fire and water. Alchemist Hennig Brand is credited with discovering
phosphorus in the late 17th century, sparking chemists to begin
pursuing these basic atomic elements.